Frequently Asked Questions for Fundraiser Lotteries
- What are some examples of fundraiser lotteries that fall under the class licence?
A registered charity conducts a lottery in Singapore to raise funds for its beneficiaries. Such lottery falls under the class licence.
A company sponsors a registered charity as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility programme, and the company conducts a lottery in Singapore to raise funds for the charity. The company’s lottery falls under the class licence.
- Who is eligible for this class licence?
Fundraiser lotteries may only be conducted by the following eligible persons:
- any charity which is registered under the Charities Act 1994;
- any unregistered charity which —
- is specified in the Schedule to the Charities Act 1994; or
- is excepted from registration under the Charities Act 1994 by regulations made under that Act;
- any institution of a public character;
- any organisation or person granted membership of the National Council of Social Service under section 15(1)(a) or (b) of the National Council of Social Service Act 1992;
- any other person who is party to a sponsorship-like arrangement (e.g. a memorandum of understanding) connected with an eligible person mentioned in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) and is not a gambling service agent of such an eligible person
(also known as a sponsoring eligible person).
- Do I need to apply for a class licence from GRA to conduct fundraiser lotteries?
You do not need to submit a licence application to GRA for a class licence. There is also no need to notify GRA before or after the conduct of a fundraiser lottery.
You will qualify as a class licensee and may proceed to conduct a fundraiser lottery for a benefitting organization if you comply with all of the conditions for fundraiser lotteries in the Gambling Control (Fundraisers — Class Licence) Order 2022 (the “Fundraisers Class Licence Order”).
As an example, if you are conducting a fundraiser lottery as a sponsoring eligible person, all proceeds must be distributed towards the benefitting organisation that you have an arrangement with. No proceeds may be channeled towards the administrative costs or any other expenses incurred in conducting the fundraiser lottery.
For a complete list of the applicable conditions, you may wish to refer to the Gambling Control (Fundraisers – Class Licence) Order 2022, which is accessible here.
- What are the possible modes to conduct a fundraiser lottery? Can it be conducted in a physical or remote setting (e.g. through a website)?
You may conduct a fundraiser lottery in or from any place in Singapore in either a physical setting (e.g., drawing hardcopy tickets) or on a virtual platform (e.g., drawing tickets via a live stream).
- What are examples of instant/non-instant games/lotteries?
An instant lottery means a lottery where the results are realisable immediately after the participant in the lottery acquires the right to enter or participate in the lottery.
An example of an instant lottery is a lucky draw, where:
- the participant obtains the right to enter the lucky draw; and
- the participant immediately knows the results of the lucky draw and can claim his prize, if any.
All lotteries, instant or non-instant, must be conducted in compliance with the requirements set out in paragraphs 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Gambling Control (Fundraisers - Class Licence) Order 2022.
Lotteries which are not instant must be conducted in compliance with additional requirements in paragraphs 9 and 10 of the Gambling Control (Fundraisers- Class Licence) Order 2022.
- Are there any restrictions to the prizes that I can give out as part of a fundraiser lottery? Can I give out cash, or cash equivalent as prizes?
There are no restrictions on the types of prizes that can be awarded.
- What information am I required to provide to participants before conducting a fundraiser lottery?
The information required to be provided to participants includes, but is not limited to:
- the name of the eligible person under the class licence conducting the fundraiser lottery;
- the date, place and time for the draw or determination of the fundraiser lottery;
- the rules of the fundraiser lottery used to determine the winners in the lottery;
- the distribution of the proceeds; respective to the class licensee being an eligible person or a sponsoring eligible person;
- the name of the benefitting organisation of the fundraiser lottery.
For all the necessary information that must be provided, please refer to paragraph 8 of the Gambling Control (Fundraisers — Class Licence) Order 2022 found here.
- What are the records that I am required to keep for conducting a fundraiser lottery? How long must I keep the records for?
You will only be required to keep records when the fundraiser lottery you are conducting is non-instant. Such accurate records relating to the fundraiser lottery must be kept for a period of at least 5 years.
“Instant lottery” means a lottery the results of which are realisable immediately after the participant in the lottery acquires the right to enter or participate in the lottery.
For a complete list of records which must be kept, please refer to paragraph 9 of the Gambling Control (Fundraisers — Class Licence) Order 2022 found here.
- Am I allowed to advertise a fundraiser lottery?
Yes.
You may advertise a fundraiser lottery, as long as the information does not make reference in any way to any gambling article specified in the Second Schedule of the Gambling Control (Fundraisers — Class Licence) Order 2022 found here.
You must also provide material information to participants in relation to any publicity for the fundraiser lottery.
Please refer to S/N 7 above on the information that must be provided to participants before conducting a fundraiser lottery.
- Are there any restrictions for the fundraiser lotteries?
The fundraiser lottery that you conduct must not be or relate to any of the games specified in the First Schedule of the Gambling Control (Fundraisers — Class Licence) Order 2022.
In addition, the fundraiser lottery should not display or use any image of a gambling article specified in the Second Schedule of Gambling Control (Fundraisers — Class Licence) Order 2022. Some examples of these impermissible gambling articles include mahjong tiles, English playing cards and Roulette wheels.
The Gambling Control (Fundraisers – Class Licence) Order 2022 may be accessible here.
Please note that a benefitting organisation is only allowed to have one fundraiser lottery conducted for it in a calendar year. This is regardless whether the fundraiser lottery is conducted by the benefitting organisation itself, or by a “sponsoring eligible person”. The definition of a “sponsoring eligible person” can be found in S/N 2 above.
For instance, if a charity has already conducted a fundraiser lottery earlier in the year and was subsequently approached by a company offering to hold another fundraiser lottery on its behalf in the same calendar year (e.g., as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme), the charity is not allowed to accept the offer for the additional fundraiser lottery. The company cannot, on its own accord, conduct the fundraiser lottery for the charity as well.
- Am I allowed to apply for a waiver to conduct a fundraiser lottery if I am unable to comply with all the conditions in the class licence order?
There will be no waiver allowed for any of the class licence conditions.
Persons conducting any lottery that fail to meet the definition of “fundraiser lottery” in the Gambling Control (Fundraisers – Class Licence) Order 2022 (the “Order”) may be committing an offence under section 18(1) of the Gambling Control Act 2022.
Persons conducting fundraiser lotteries in breach of the conditions in paragraphs 5 to 10 of the Order may be liable for regulatory sanctions under Part 7 of the Gambling Control Act 2022.
- When is the class licence order for fundraiser lotteries effective from?
The class licence for fundraiser lotteries has been effective since 2 August 2022.